Chapter 17

He emerged from the long shadows of the trees, his black-robed form darker than the moonlit night.

He crossed the graves at a determined pace, thoughtless of the peace of those who rested beneath the earth. His eyes that glowed red with the fires of hell fixated upon a mausoleum ahead - his goal.

A few gestures and words in the spidery language of magic dissolved the wards protecting the crypt as he approached. The lock on the door snapped as if a twig from a single twist of Thanatos' wrist. The demon cast aside the lock, chipping a nearby tombstone, and pulled open the heavy iron-bound door.

Stale air tinged with the perfume of death rushed from inside, and light violated the dark resting place of the dead for the first time in many years. Twin stone sarcophagi nearly filled the small space, the fine lines and detailed carvings bespeaking great wealth.

Thanatos approached and swept aside the dry, brittle remnants of flowers that decorated the lid of one sarcophagus, revealing the inscription, and confirming what the demon already knew.

The runes of warding were no match for his magic, their angry red glow impotent to prevent the desecration to come. Nor was the weight of the great stone lid any impediment, though it had taken six men to set it in place. Thanatos grasped one of the handles at the base of the arched stone cover in a long-fingered hand and lifted. The lead seals broke free and the lip slipped from its groove, allowing the demon to push the lid over the edge, where it hit with a resounding crack upon the polished stone floor.

The stained wood of the coffin within looked as if it might have been placed there only days before, rather than years. Only a thin layer of dust marred the beauty of its surface, which the demon completely ignored as his nails elongated into claws, giving him purchase into the thin seam of the coffin lid.

The body of the woman had not endured the years so well. Dull, dry blonde hair formed a halo around the darkened, desiccated flesh clinging to her skull. A voluminous gown of now yellowed white could not hide the bony protrusions of the body it shrouded. A single deadly touch of the demon's claw caused the garment to dissolve, completing the work of decades in seconds, while leaving the body untouched.

Thanatos laid his hand upon the body's shriveled breasts, and once again called upon his hellish powers. Even as his touch could cause corruption and death, so too could it reverse the ravages of decay and give a semblance of life to the shell of a mortal's remains.

The woman's skin lightened and plumped, the flesh undulating as it regained elasticity. Features emerged in her face, replacing the horrifying visage of a leering skull. Eyelids grew to cover the empty eye cavities, sprouting long, luxurious lashes. The breasts beneath his hands swelled many times over, rising firm and proud.

The demon lifted his hand and admired his handiwork. The woman within the coffin little resembled the husk that had resided there only moments before. Instead, a blonde woman of stunning beauty and ample curves appeared to sleep within.

Thanatos reached into a pocket of his robes, seeking the tools of the Art. The mere semblance of life was not enough to complete the task given him. He would have to reach into the very realm of death and the echoes of the past with necromantic magic to finish his masterpiece.

Then, he would have his reward.

Andrea let out a little moan as her lips parted from Turner's. "Hope to see you soon."

"Kronk'll see ya out," The big half-orc standing nearby declared, and then gestured toward the stairs.

Turner said, "Really soon, I hope."

"Me too," Andrea responded, color rising in her cheeks.

She watched him walking with Kronk toward the stairs, and her heart soared when he turned around for one last look at her before descending.

Kronk paused as well and said, "Bath's all ready."

The door to the Ducal chambers opened just as the pair vanished into the stairwell, and Christi emerged wearing nothing but a light shift and a satisfied smile. Right behind her came Ashley, similarly dressed, sleepy-looking, and with her hair completely disheveled.

Andrea bit her lip to hold back a giggle when she noticed the streak of dried cum that decorated her sister witch's leg from the shift down to her knee.

"Have a good..." The Duchess paused and twitched her eyebrows before finishing, "Night?"

"Mmm hmm," Andrea answered. "Guess you did too."

Ashley laughed and rubbed her eyes. "Oh, I need a bath."

"Fun making the mess though, wasn't it?" the sultry Duchess teased. "Kronk will have the bath ready. He's good about that when things get loud at night around here."

Christi started toward the door to the bath, and the two witches fell into step with her. Just before they reached their destination, Marlena emerged with Brandon from her room, caught his hand before he could walk away, and kissed him.

The Duchess gestured toward the door, and led the two witches inside. Marlena and Brandon were still kissing the whole while. As soon as they were all within the room, Christi tugged on the sleeve of Andrea's robe and said, "I hope you can sew bridesmaid's dresses, because I think you'll be needing them before long."

"I think so too," Andrea agreed as she untied the belt of her robe.

Marlena finally walked in as the other three women settled into the bath. She looked absolutely radiant and greeted everyone with a cheerful, "Good morning," as she untied her robe and let it fall to the floor.

Everyone greeted her as she ascended the steps and then sat down with a relieved sigh in the warm water. "How's everything at home?" She asked after leaning back to wet her hair.

"Going well," Ashley answered while she washed. "Danica told us that you both finished your spells."

The illusionist nodded. "I'm excited about going and putting them to use, but I think that I could use another day to relax."

"Brandon probably wouldn't be worth a damn for a week, after another day of relaxing with you," Christi suggested with a sly smile.

"I'm not sure that I would be either," Marlena responded with laughter in her voice.

"You know that you're all welcome any time," The Duchess said. "Hate to be rude, but I've got to get washed up, dressed up, and go be Duchess. Cerebus was stuck with it yesterday, so it's my turn."

Ashley shrugged and sighed. "We probably shouldn't linger either. We still have a lot to do."

Andrea and Marlena made small sounds of grudging agreement and turned to the task of washing away the evidence of the previous night's bliss.

Danica was still tingling from a wonderful morning orgasm on Celes' fingers in the bath when she walked toward the kitchen at the witch's side. She grabbed her friend's bottom, offered a sexy growl, and then laughed when Celes twitched her eyebrows in response.

The pair put aside their playful antics upon entering the kitchen, as the last thing that the girls needed was any encouragement in that direction. Two of the copies of Danica - Danila and Denise - stood at the sinks washing dishes, and said hello upon noticing that they weren't alone.

Denise said, "Breakfast is over there on the stove," while scrubbing an iron skillet with a wire brush.

"Thank you, Denise," Danica responded, and then asked the other clone, "Still doing okay?"

Zoraster had manipulated the clone through both an aborted pregnancy and magic to lactate in abundance. Edna had fortunately discovered a spell in her book that helped to counter the magic. It had taken some time to convince the other girls that suckling their clone sister was making her uncomfortable by keeping the milk flowing, no matter how much she enjoyed it at the time. That part of the magic still lingered, making Danila experience powerful orgasms whenever anyone was drinking from her springs of mother's milk.

"Okay," Danila answered. "They only leak when I..." Her cheeks turned bright red, and she finished in a rush, "When I get really excited."

"Just remember how heavy they were and how much they ached. That should help avoid temptation," Danica suggested.

Still embarrassed, the auburn-haired clone nodded her head and returned to the dishwashing.

"Come along, now," Celes said. She already stood in the doorway, holding the two plates left for them. "I'm famished, and you still need to give me my copy of your new spell."

Her stomach rumbling, Danica walked over and took her plate.

A quiet mental chime and a flash of light from within the room alerted the pair that someone had teleported into the manor. Since the numerous wards and runic defenses hadn't activated, they were fairly confident about who had just popped in.

"Welcome home," Celes said upon seeing Andrea, Marlena, and Ashley reorienting their senses after the translocation. "Not sure if the girls saved any more of breakfast."

"I'll just have some fruit later," Andrea said, and pointed toward the center of the manor. "I want to go check on the Dragon Tongue."

"Pears sound good," Ashley agreed. "I'm going to go fetch some. You?" she asked Marlena.

The illusionist answered, "I'm actually craving celery for some reason."

Andrea called back from the hallway just outside the door. "I'll bring some back from the garden. Bring me some of the golden apples, Ashley?"

"Okay," Ashley answered as she followed the blonde out of the study.

Danica took her seat and asked, "Craving celery? You're not pregnant are you?"

Marlena laughed and answered, "Oh gods no! I cast my spell every time. I'm not ready for that."

"I was only teasing," Danica said as she pulled the cloth off her plate and picked up a fork.

"Well, I'm not teasing when I say I'm going to tweak your ears if you don't hand over my copy of your new spell," Celes warned while uncovering her breakfast.

"Okay. Okay." Danica laughed, put down her fork, and pulled the rolled page from a pocket of her robe.

Celes sat the page off to the side of her plate, weighed down the edges with a large chunk of white crystal and an empty inkpot, and then proceeded to read while she ate.

Once Danica put aside her plate a few minutes later, she asked Marlena, "So, are you ready for a long walk through a strange land?"

"I'm actually sort of excited. I haven't really traveled much, let alone to anywhere so different from what I know."

"I've done my fair share of seeing the world, even if it wasn't my own idea," Danica remarked.

"Ye can say that again, Dearie," Celes agreed.

Danica stood up and said, "I just need some time to put a few things together. Leave in a couple of hours?"

Celes tapped her copy of Danica's spell. "This is going to keep things like the farspeak spell from getting through to you, isn't it?"

"As it is right now - yes. I'll probably perfect a version of it that lets some things like that work eventually, but I just thought it was too much to try on a brand new spell."

"Hmm ... I don't know about this."

Danica smiled and offered, "How about if we give a call home every night and every morning, just to say that we're fine, if nothing else? The spell won't block our magic from reaching out, but it should still keep anyone from following the spell back to us."

"Fair enough. We don't hear from you, and I'm going to come find you somehow."

"Fair enough," Danica echoed with a wink. "I'm going to go get ready. Meet me in my room when you're ready, Marlena?"

"I'll be there in a bit," the illusionist acknowledged as she stood up.

Ashley had finished her breakfast as well, and tapped a spoon on the edge of her potion brewing pot. "Back to work, girls."

Andrea and Celes groaned in perfect unison.

Pebbles cascaded down the rock face as Danica and Marlena appeared in a burst of brimstone smoke several turns higher on the switchback trail than where they had stood only moments before.

Marlena instinctively took a step away from the abyss, despite Danica's magic depositing them a safe distance away from the long drop. She then waved a hand in front of her and made a face. "Phew!"

Danica nodded, still holding her breath. Unfortunately, the stench still lingered when she relented. "Believe me, I know." She closed her eyes for a moment and then said, "My spell is still working."

The illusionist nodded her head. "Mine too. How much walking do you think we just saved?"

"Two hours, at least. I guess the trail meandering back and forth like it does makes sense if you're actually trying to climb the mountain, but walking so far out of my way isn't my idea of fun."

"I'll just be glad when we're on the other side," Marlena remarked after leaning forward a little to peek over the edge.

"The view will be better on the other side. That should make it a little more bearable. Besides, you have feather falling enchantments. It's not as if you're going to do more than drift down to the last bend in the trail."

Marlena laughed. "Doesn't help."

Danica's eyes followed the trail to find that it passed out of her sight and into what looked like a crevasse. A look upward revealed no more switchbacks. "Looks like we're walking for a while. I really don't want to risk flying unless we have to. The winds are too unpredictable."

Marlena nodded emphatically in approval of that decision, as she wasn't all that comfortable with the height even with her feet on solid ground. The prospect of sailing above that emptiness made her stomach clench. A sudden burst of hot wind sweeping up from the desert below to whip her hair and robes didn't help the feeling any.

"If that crack is deep enough, we might be across sooner than I thought. No way of knowing until we take a look, though." Danica nodded toward the bend in the trail and started walking.

As soon as the pair turned the corner, Marlena let out a sigh of relief. The trail followed a cleft between two sheer walls of rock stretching upward into a V shape. Though boulders that had tumbled down littered the floor of the valley, indicating a need for caution, the illusionist felt a great deal more at ease without any visual point of reference telling her how high up she was.

Most of the conversation during the climb had revolved around the goal and destination, but to help calm her friend's nerves, Danica changed the subject. "So, how's Brandon? Getting along okay at Blackhawk?"

Marlena smiled at the mention of his name. "He loves it there. He just fits in with everyone."

"I haven't been there that often, but I can guess why." Danica chuckled, and the intensity of the echo from the sound startled her a bit. She lowered her voice and said, "Maybe we should keep it quiet. I've heard of loud sounds setting off avalanches, and I'm not in the mood to test whether it works on rocks, too."

Marlena nodded. "I feel torn. There's so much going on, but all I want to do is spend time with him. I haven't felt this way..." Her cheeks reddened. "Well, in a long time."

Danica had a flash of something from Marlena's thoughts come to her unbidden, but it was indistinct. The only impression that she derived was of a man in robes before she snapped shut the connection, not wanting to pry.

She stroked Marlena's back for a moment. "There's time. We certainly need you, but we don't need you to be unhappy, either. Besides, making him pine for you every once in a while will keep him from taking you for granted."

"You're right, of course."

"I'd imagine that he's rather enthusiastic when you've been away for a while, too."

Marlena twitched her eyebrows. "So am I."

The crevasse curved to the left, making it obvious to Danica that they weren't going to emerge on the other side of the range. The switchbacks were simply moving to a different face of the mountain. She unconsciously slowed as an odd sensation swept over her.

"Wait," Danica abruptly whispered, and then grabbed the sleeve of her friend's robe. Marlena froze in her tracks.

Danica slipped into the second sight, and immediately saw what had caused her to feel uneasy. "Wards on the trail," she whispered.

"I see them," the illusionist agreed. "What do you think it means?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to find out the hard way by setting them off. Keep your eyes open while I try something."

The discipline of spell weaving originated in the creation - and unraveling - of magical wards, and was uniquely suited to what Danica wanted to attempt. First, she examined the magic and determined that it had only one purpose, which was to detect living things of a certain size crossing its boundary.

With no threat present in the ward itself, Danica gathered up strands of the world's magical energy, spinning it into a thread of her own. This she carefully slipped into the weave of the ward, feeding it back to its source. Within seconds, she knew where the magic originated.

"There's something alien about this pattern," Danica observed while glancing in the direction where she could sense Marlena. She was too deep in the second sight to actually see her friend, but she could feel the illusionist at her side. "Make us invisible."

Marlena began her spell chant, and Danica went to work on the strands of magical energy that stretched from wall to wall of the crevasse. Breaking the ward would have been simple, but Danica knew from experience that the person who had created the magic would feel that. Instead, she carefully moved the threads of magic, manipulating them until she formed a door just large enough to pass through.

Once the gap in the magic was wide enough, Danica snatched up another errant strand of magic and outlined the doorway in a thin band of pinkish light.

Marlena said, "I see it. I used my most powerful cloaking spell."

Danica let her vision slip back into reality. She wasn't at all surprised that she could see Marlena. The illusionist had such a command of the magic that she could overcome the usual limitations where a person using invisibility magic couldn't even see themselves.

"We may as well check this out. The source of the magic is along the way." Danica drew a little circle in the air in front of the glowing pink outline. "Just don't touch the circle."

Marlena nodded and went through first, without incident. Danica followed, and then pinched a tail she'd left exposed on her pink doorway. A little tug started the slow unraveling, which would close the opening, leaving the ward as it was when she found it.

After only a few steps beyond the ward, Marlena slowed and held out an arm to block Danica's path. "Someone is using powerful illusion magic ahead. I can sense it."

"Do you think they could sense yours?"

"Probably. Should I dismiss my spell?"

Danica shook her head and continued the conversation with telepathy. 'No. Just because someone can sense it doesn't mean that they can penetrate it. Let's hide as best we can, though.'

'There's something strange about the magic I'm sensing too.'

'Inhuman?'

'Yes.'

After passing by an outcropping a little farther down the trail, Danica spied a ramshackle cottage butted up against the mountain. The trail continued upward in more switchbacks beyond the cottage. 'Why would anyone live up here?'

'They're probing my magic - whoever it is, ' Marlena answered.

The door of the cottage opened with a creak, and an old man peeked out. He looked around, but gave no indication that he'd penetrated Marlena's spell.

Danica winced as a wall of emotion hit her. Somewhere beyond the cottage door, people reacted with both fear and longing to the beam of light intruding on the darkness.

A mental gasp accompanied Marlena's warning. 'It's an illusion. All of it.'

'There are prisoners - slaves - inside, ' Danica added. 'I can't see through the illusion.'

'Me either. It's powerful. I think I have a spell that can break it, but we'll lose the cloaking magic.'

The old man wandered outside the door, closing it behind him as he continued to sweep his eyes over the trail.

'Let me get something ready first, ' Danica cautioned, then began chanting a spell.

Marlena spoke her own words of magic, and Danica heard the illusionist pause before completing the spell. As she was ready to say the last word of her own spell, Danica sent a mental signal to her friend. 'Now.'

The old man instantly turned toward the two women when they appeared before him. Marlena's spell made a sound like the roaring of flame and sent a column of ripples speeding toward the old man and the cottage. When it hit him, the magic erupted with a loud, low frequency hum and rapidly expanded, destroying the illusions. Where once there was a cottage, a cave entrance loomed. The door proved to be a large stone.

Danica's spell of entrapment closed around a monster rather than a man. The creature hulked nine feet tall, with red skin, horns, and a horrible visage. It roared and flexed its muscles, easily tearing apart Danica's spell.

"Oni!" Marlena called out, then snapped her wrists. Her new magical bracelets produced two wands.

The monster let out a roar and charged toward Danica. Initiatively, she lashed out with her telekinetic power, but the Oni did little more than flinch, not even slowing.

Marlena aimed one of her wands and shouted a command word. A cone of wind slammed into the approaching creature, toppling it from its feet and sending it rolling backwards.

"Wind magic! They're creatures of earth," Marlena explained. Her wand discharged again, keeping the monster from rising and slamming it into the cold stone of the mountain.

Danica cast the first spell that came to mind, peppering the Oni with wind missiles. The monster roared in pain as the magical darts pierced its flesh.

Yet another blast of Marlena's wand pinned the Oni to the wall. "We have to break its contact with the earth. That will weaken it. Don't kill it."

Though she wondered why Marlena was concerned about killing the raging creature, she concentrated on the first instruction. Her hands flying through the gestures, Danica spoke the words of a spell. When she finished, the creature's feet lifted from the ground.

Marlena's voice rang out in another command word and she pulled back on the wand as if fishing and setting the hook. The Oni flew toward them to hover a few feet away, about twenty feet up. "Now bind it, or put it to sleep."

Trusting her friend, Danica cast a sleep spell, and the monster's head slumped down to its chin.

Marlena breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her wands. "The spell will work as long as it isn't in contact with the earth."

"What do we do with it now, though? Is it a demon?"

A shake of Marlena's head answered no. "They're related to ogres, but they're not evil."

"Uhm - it has people caged up in there, and it didn't stop to ask questions before it attacked us."

"Oni use their power of illusion and other magical abilities to capture and enslave evil beings." Marlena paused and shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "They have been known to be corrupted by capturing something so evil that they couldn't deal with it, though."

"I can feel the fear from the people in there," Danica cautioned, "Fear of the Oni."

"They could still be evil."

"But if not..."

"I know."

Danica nodded and conjured up a ball of light that hovered over her head. "My spells will hold up long enough for us to find out who's in here."

Marlena let out a resigned sigh and led the way into the cave.

A short distance down the passage they found the den of the Oni. Once, it might have been a strangely human dwelling beneath the earth - save for the size of the furniture - but no more. Everything was scattered around the room in disarray, and the remains of the Oni's last meal remained in one corner - human bones.

Marlena covered her mouth and made a choking sound.

"Marlena, I think it's obvious that this one has been corrupted."

"I know but ... I just..." The illusionist trembled, her voice carrying a profound note of sadness.

"I'll do it. Go help them." Danica gestured to a side passage, from where the weeping of the slaves echoed off the stone walls. "Take my bag. I've started keeping lots of spare clothes, food, and bandages in there."

"Airburst," Marlena said in a small voice. "The spell will destroy it instantly."

Though she didn't know why, Danica understood that something beyond the necessity to destroy a once good creature corrupted by evil was bothering Marlena. "I won't wake it up first."

Marlena nodded and walked into the side passage as Danica turned to do what had to be done.

"It's about time," Celes said as the transparent image of Danica appeared a few feet away in the center of the study.

"I know. Sorry," Danica apologized. "We were a little busy. Still are."

"Everything okay?" Ashley asked, turning from where she stood rinsing her potion pot in the small study sink.

"I'll let you know this evening." Seeing Celes' eyes narrow, Danica quickly added, "We just ran into something unexpected along the way, and Marlena's having a bit of a hard time with what we had to do. She'll be okay."

Celes nodded, accepting that Danica knew what she was doing. "We just finished with the last batch for today. We're going to start popping around dropping off the potions and recipes."

Andrea piped up, "We all need to get out of this room for a while, before we go crazy."

"Be home by evening?" Danica asked.

Celes answered, "We'll be here when you call, and you might actually be able to see the tables when you do."

"They'll be covered again by lunch tomorrow, though."

Andrea and Celes both groaned when Ashley said that.

Danica laughed. "Okay. I'm going to get back to Marlena. I'll fill you in more this evening."

Danica dismissed her spell and looked down one more time at the Oni horn lying on the ground. For some reason, it had remained when she'd cast the Airburst spell, though the rest of the creature had simply disintegrated. Thankfully, it had landed behind a rock, and Marlena had not yet seen it.

The pain in the illusionist's face had doubled, brought on by the pitiful state of the slaves within the cave. Seeing that Danica had completed her spell, she said, "They won't even come out of their cells. They're terrified."

"It is done."

Danica spun on the deep, growling voice emerging from behind her, the words of the Airburst spell on her lips the moment she recognized another Oni.

"Danica! Don't!" Marlena cried out as she grabbed Danica's hand, spoiling the gestures of the spell.

The creature gave a slight bow of its head, and Danica felt a chill run up her spine. She could see the creature's eyes, and immediately knew that this one was not like the other. Despite the Oni's brutish, demonic face, its eyes held intelligence and compassion.

"This one hasn't been corrupted."

The Oni moved to the horn lying on the ground and picked it up. "Long have we mourned the loss of our brother. You have given him peace."

Even more so than the Oni's eyes, its urbane manner of speaking clashed with the harsh voice to such an extent that Danica was completely unsettled. Marlena seemed not to notice, and stood with a sad smile on her face.

"We thank you," the Oni continued. "Fear not for those within. Our magic will erase both pain and memory, and return them to their homes."

Marlena approached the creature and spoke, the words full of hard consonants and her tone throaty. Whatever language she spoke, it was one that Danica's earrings were unable to translate.

The Oni's face split into a toothy grin. "We accept your condolences with a glad heart. How is it that you know of us, one of fire hair?"

Marlena answered, "The master who taught me the art of illusion was well acquainted with one of your brothers. He visited frequently, so I knew him from the time when I was a little girl. He was far from home, and grew lonely for conversation from time to time."

Offering a sagely nod, the Oni said, "It is difficult when one of us is called away from this land by the swelling of darkness." The monstrous-looking creature stiffened, its eyes growing distant for a moment. When the Oni's eyes focused again, it cupped the horn of its fallen brother in its hands and held it out to Marlena. "Take this. Even in one corrupted, there remains the light of our purpose. In this, our brother's light remains. Should darkness descend upon you, it will light your way."

A single tear rolled down Marlena's cheek as she accepted the horn. "When the need arises, your brother's light will once again serve the purpose, scattering the shadows of evil."

The Oni bowed its head, and then lumbered toward the entrance of the cave.

Marlena met Danica's eye and nodded toward the path that continued on through the mountains. As she walked, she reverently placed the Oni horn in her bag of holding and said, "They're uncomfortable around people, and they can do far more for the prisoners than we ever could. They'll be home, safe, and happy tonight."